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Indie Flix
By PHILIP BOOTH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 16, 2002
You can't hurry love
Triumph of Love (PG-13) (107 minutes) -- Clare Peploe, the director and co-writer (with husband Bernardo Bertolucci) of this sumptuously photographed, pleasantly diverting adaptation of an 18th century comedy of romance and deception, comes off as conflicted about her intentions.
Peploe, inspired by a recent production of French playwright Pierre Marivaux's Triumph of Love, on one hand emphasizes the source material's easy transition to the big screen. She makes aggressive use of often distracting jump cuts; takes care to capture the natural and artificial beauty of the setting, a sprawling stone mansion and the surrounding gardens; and employs a soundtrack that juxtaposes string ensembles with the fluid art-rock lines of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.
The filmmaker, on the other hand, offers literal references to an actual stage production, including blink-and-you'll-miss-them shots of a seated audience, and a quick coda featuring the cast members in contemporary street clothes. Peploe, try as she may, can't quite escape the essential staginess of the thing: The story largely proceeds as a series of saucy one-on-one conversations, with lots of arch dialogue but no real momentum or sense of urgency.
That's not for lack of trying, as several of these performances shine. Mira Sorvino is as charming as she has ever been, in the role of a princess eager to restore a usurped family to the throne. She's smitten with the kingdom's rightful heir, Agis (Jay Rodan, pretty and vapid), after catching the young man bathing; the princess's plan is to masquerade as a man, along with her assistant (Rachel Stirling), the better to get into the good graces of Agis.
There are obstacles, though, in the form of the long-lost prince's guardians, rationalist philosopher Hermocrates (Ben Kingsley, solid and funny) and the latter's spinster sister, Leontine (Fiona Shaw, convincing and touching), a scientist. The princess, declaring her love, round-robin style, to all three residents of the country estate, piles on the layers of deception, and eventually reveals her identity. At long last, true love is revealed, and (almost) all is forgiven of the conniving young woman. The waiting is the hardest part. B
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